Brigade 2506 (Brigada Asalto 2506) was a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

-sponsored group of

Cuban exile A Cuban exile is a person who emigrated from Cuba in the Cuban exodus. Exiles have various differing experiences as emigrants depending on when they migrated during the exodus. Demographics Social class Cuban exiles would come from various eco ...

s formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

. It carried out the abortive

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fina ...

landings in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

on 17 April 1961.

History

In May 1960, the CIA began to recruit anti-Castro Cuban exiles in the

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

area. For most recruits, infantry training was carried out at a CIA-run base code-named ''JMTrax'' near

Retalhuleu The city of Retalhuleu () is situated in south-western Guatemala. It is the departmental seat of Retalhuleu Department as well as the municipal seat of Retalhuleu Municipality. Retalhuleu stands at about 240 metres above sea level. The city has a ...

in the

Sierra Madre Sierra Madre (Spanish, 'mother mountain range') may refer to: Places and mountains Mexico *Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona *Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range in northeastern Mexico *S ...

on the Pacific coast of

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. In November 1960, with Gregorio Aguilar Matteo spearheading training with 430 men, the leaders were chosen and the group was named Brigade 2506. It was also known as the Blindado Battalion among members, using the membership number of Carlos (Carlyle) Rafael Santana Estevez, who had died in a training accident in September 1960. The principal commanders were appointed as follows: * Manuel Francisco Artime Buesa: Political leader * José Alfredo Pérez San Román "Pepe": Military commander * Erneido Andrés Oliva González: Military second-in-command * Manuel Villafaña Martínez: Commander of the air force * Ramón J. Ferrer Mena: Chief of staff * Enrique Ruíz Williams * Higinio Nino Díaz * Francisco Pérez Castro "Brillo": Infantry battalion *

Alejandro del Valle Martí Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander (Czech, Polish), Alexandre ( French), Alexandros (Greek), Alsander (Irish), Alessandro (Italian), Aleksandr (Rus ...

: 1st Paratroop Battalion * Hugo Sueiro Ríos: 2nd Infantry Battalion * Noelio Montero Díaz: 3rd Battalion * Valentín Bacallao Ponte "Pipo": 4th Armoured Battalion * Ricardo Montero Duque: 5th Infantry Battalion * Francisco Montiel Maciera Rivera: 6th Infantry Battalion * Roberto Pérez San Román: Heavy Gun Battalion About 1,334 men traveled on a seaborne force from Guatemala, of which about 1,297 actually landed in Cuba, plus an additional 177 airborne paratroops. An estimated 114 drowned or were killed in action, and 1,183 were captured, tried and imprisoned. Private sympathizers in the United States eventually negotiated to give $53 million worth of food and medicine in exchange for release and repatriation of Brigade prisoners to Miami starting on 23 December 1962. On 29 December 1962, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

hosted a 'welcome back' ceremony for captured Brigade 2506 veterans at the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

in Miami. Some of its members have gone on to found the Brigade 2506 Veteran's Association, which controls the Bay of Pigs Museum & Library in Miami.Thomas (1971)

References

* Wyden, Peter: ''Bay of Pigs - The Untold Story''. Simon and Schuster. New York 1979, .

External links

Bay of Pigs Veterans Association
''Brigade 2506''
''Newsweek'' article about Brigade 2506
{{Cuba-United States relations Cuba–United States relations Cuban Revolution Opposition to Fidel Castro Central Intelligence Agency Guerrilla movements in Latin America Anti-communist organizations in the United States

History

See also

References

External links